Snakes alive: Audio slideshow

In this arid river valley in southeastern Alberta, Adam Martinson is trying to find out why rattlesnakes cross the road.

Martinson, a University of Calgary student working on a Masters degree has come to Dinosaur Provincial Park, listed as a United Nations World Heritage site, to study why snakes slither onto — and too frequently die on — the asphalt blacktop of the region’s roads.

Photographer Todd Korol looks into the fate of rattlesnakes on Canadian roads.

Perhaps they feel the paved road is more easily navigated because they have less obstacles in their crawling paths.Or perhaps they find the sudden change in the texture to be interesting enough to explore in what must be a pretty unadventurous daily life in Alberta

Simple.Asphalt blacktop gets hot in the summer. Snakes in general will seek a hot rock or structure to sun in. It would be interesting to know if they die on roads just as often in the winter..Can I have my masters now!!!